Publikationer från Umeå universitet
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In-depth analysis of disease manifestations in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitides identifies distinct clinical phenotypes
No full textObjective: The antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides are heterogeneous disorders. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize subgroups of patients based on sex, ANCA, age at diagnosis, and organ involvement. Methods: In total, 1,167 patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) or microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) were retrospectively recruited to the study. Data including cumulative involvement of 10 different organ systems, end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), sex, proteinase (PR) 3–ANCA, myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA, age at diagnosis, disease duration, and relapse were obtained from medical records. Clinical variables were analyzed for associations with sex, age at diagnosis, and relapse using logistic regression analysis. Thirteen clinical variables were included in hierarchical cluster analyses using the Ward method. Results: In patients with GPA, PR3-ANCA, renal and pulmonary involvement, and ESKD were significantly associated with male sex, whereas MPO-ANCA was associated with female sex. Patients with GPA who were younger than 32 years of age at diagnosis were significantly more often females and had more ear–nose–throat involvement than patients older than 32 years. In patients with MPA, female patients were significantly younger at diagnosis than male patients. Relapse was significantly associated with young age at diagnosis and pulmonary involvement in GPA and with musculoskeletal involvement in MPA. Hierarchical cluster analyses identified five and seven patient clusters among individuals with GPA and MPA, respectively. PR3-/MPO-ANCA defined the largest clusters, whereas heart, gastrointestinal, and central nervous system involvement were hallmarks for three clusters for both patients with GPA and MPA. Conclusion: Sex, age at diagnosis, and specific organ involvements define clinically relevant subgroups among patients with ANCA-associated vasculitides
Arctic food and energy security at the crossroads
No full textArctic food systems blend Traditional Ecological Knowledge with modern, often energy-intensive influences, triggered by colonization. Food systems’ future depends on alignment of tradition with innovation, facilitation of resilience and a heritage-driven interaction with the global economy – at a pace determined by local communities.Correction:Unc, A., Abou Najm, M.R., Aspholm, P.E. et al. Author Correction: Arctic food and energy security at the crossroads. Commun Earth Environ 6, 480 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02434-7</p
Automated game testing with online search agent and model construction, a study
No full textModern computer games have become very complex, so they can benefit from automated testing. However, their huge and fine grained interaction space makes them very challenging for automated testing algorithms. Having a model of a system would greatly improve the effectiveness of a testing algorithm. However, manually constructing a model is expensive and time-consuming. This paper proposes an online agent-based search approach to solve common testing tasks for computer games, in particular games that involve elements of world navigation and exploration. On the fly, the approach also constructs a model of the system, which is then exploited to solve the given testing task. The effectiveness of the approach is studied via a case study called Lab Recruits and its simulation of another game called Dungeons and Dragons Online. The study showed that the approach is superior in its ability to complete testing tasks and its completion time compared to evolutionary algorithm, Q-learning and MCTS. This paper extends a previous work presented in ATEST by including evaluation on large game levels, evaluation of the achieved coverage and fault detection and the aforementioned comparison with other algorithms
Clinical implications of the new criteria for a positive bronchodilator response in children with asthma
No full textA century of divorce: a time series analysis of macroeconomic conditions and marital dissolution in Sweden 1915–2010
No full textDivorce increased throughout the twentieth century across Western nations. Procyclical divorce, i.e. following macroeconomic cycles, is often suggested and women’s increased economic independence is considered a contributor to increasing divorce rates. Research has, however, overlooked that different factors may drive divorce rates across time horizons. Macroeconomic conditions, like unemployment, covary with divorce in the short term, while processes like women’s economic independence, correlate with the long-term divorce trend. Most studies focus on post-war United States, neglecting historical perspectives and Nordic countries that pioneered high divorce rates. To address these gaps, we used band spectrum regression to analyse time series capturing macroeconomic conditions, women’s economic independence, welfare state expansion, and divorce rates in Sweden, 1915–2010. This method differentiates between short- and long-run associations. Results show that this is important because most variables only covary with the divorce rate within one horizon. Results show that context matter. Contrasting U.S. findings, including novel estimates for 1930–2010, our results suggest countercyclical divorce and positive correlations between government expenditure, female-to-male relative wages, and the divorce trend in Sweden. This likely reflects the stabilising effect of the growing welfare state, which lessened financial barriers to divorce and promoted economic independence through female employment, transfers and services.MAW 2019.0029) The power of one? -The long-term increase in one-person households in Sweden, 1900-201
Dystopia and hope : the interrelation of pandemic and ecological discourses in drawings by children in Sweden during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textResearch on young people's perspectives on COVID-19 remains limited. This qualitative serial picture analysis of Swedish children's drawings, predominately from spring 2020 (N = 169), aimed to explore their views and meaning-making processes. The focus was on the interconnections of two global crises in the drawings–pandemic and environmental crisis–revealing several links, such as negative emotions and dystopian expectations, as well as a lack of hope and agency, yet also resistance and utopian optimism for solutions. Our findings offer insights into young people's responses to contemporary global crises and their implications
Linker design principles for the precision targeting of oncogenic G-quadruplex DNA with G4-ligand-conjugated oligonucleotides
No full textG-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures are noncanonical secondary structures found in key regulatory regions of the genome, including oncogenic promoters and telomeres. Small molecules, known as G4 ligands, capable of stabilizing G4s hold promise as chemical probes and therapeutic agents. Nevertheless, achieving precise specificity for individual G4 structures within the human genome remains a significant challenge. To address this, we expand upon G4-ligand-conjugated oligonucleotides (GL-Os), a modular platform combining the stabilizing properties of G4-ligands with the sequence specificity of guide DNA oligonucleotides. Central to this strategy is the linker that bridges the G4 ligand and the guide oligonucleotide. In this study, we develop multiple conjugation strategies for the GL-Os that enabled a systematic investigation of the linker in both chemical composition and length, enabling a thorough assessment of their impact on targeting oncogenic G4 DNA. Biophysical, biochemical, and computational evaluations revealed GL-Os with optimized linkers that exhibited enhanced binding to target G4s, even under thermal or structural stress. Notably, longer linkers broadened the range of targetable sequences without introducing steric hindrance, thereby enhancing the platform’s applicability across diverse genomic contexts. These findings establish GL-Os as a robust and versatile tool for the selective targeting of individual G4s. By facilitating precise investigations of G4 biology, this work provides a foundation for advancing G4-targeted therapeutic strategies and exploring their role in disease contexts
Understanding human-nature practices for environmental management : examples from Northern Europe
No full textNature has often been understood in literature through a disjunction to human systems. This can be seen in the nature-culture binary, or even more clearly in the opposition of ‘wilderness’ to ‘civilization’. Drawing on historical and present-day examples and case studies from Northern Europe, this book critically examines the ways in which the use of such dichotomies can be transcended to respond to sustainability challenges. Using illustrative examples, the authors demonstrate how shared histories and development of land use continue to impact multiple practices today. The book explores the prerequisites for environmental management approaches that counterpose the nature-culture binaries that are present in existing governance mechanisms. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental management, environmental law and policy and environmental anthropology
The Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis revisited : contrasting latitudinal richness gradients in actively vs. passively accumulated interaction partners of honey bees
No full textBackground: Contrasting hypotheses suggest that the number of biotic interactions per species could either increase towards the equator due to the increasing richness of potential interaction partners (Neutral theory), or decrease in the tropics due to increased biotic competition (Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis). Empirical testing of these hypotheses remains limited due to practical limitations, differences in methodology, and species turnover across latitudes. Here, we focus on a single species with a worldwide distribution, the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), to assess how the number of different types of interactions vary across latitudes. Foraging honey bees interact with many organisms in their local environment, including plants they actively select to visit and microbes that they largely encounter passively (i.e., unintentionally and more or less randomly). Tissue pieces and spores of these organisms are carried to the hive by foraging honey bees and end up preserved within honey, providing a rich record of the species honey bees encounter in nature. Results: Using honey samples from around the globe, we show that while honey bees visit more plant taxa at higher latitudes, they encounter more bacteria in the tropics. Conclusions: These different components of honey bees’ biotic niche support the latitudinal biotic interaction hypothesis for actively-chosen interactions, but are more consistent with neutral theory (assuming greater bacterial richness in the tropics) for unintentional interactions